Tag: inspiration

INSPIRATION… FROM A WRESTLER?🤼‍♂️

Proof you can get inspiration from just about anywhere, I took this quote from professional wrestler John Cena. It would appear that Mr. Cena and I think alike when it comes to this aspect of human development.

Do you know people who seem to exist just to bring others down? With the advent of social media, these people seem ever more popular. I have experienced it more than once with my attempts to share this very blog. My mission has always been to leave the world a better place than I found it. To that end, my online material is free and available to anyone with a desire to better their life.

When doing my best to get the word out, I have heard that I’m out to steal money from people. I’m just another con artist looking to rob people. This is after declaring that everything I do is 100% free. It used to frustrate me as I’m doing my best to better the world, but now I understand there are people like John Cena described above.

Here is the secret – we can’t let their behavior influence ours. Why anyone would wish to live in a world of cynicism and negativity is beyond me. It really is its own punishment. Looking to tear others down has you constantly focused and looking for what is wrong in the world and others. Eventually, that is all you see.

Do you know what the cure for this darkness is? Quite simple really. Do the opposite. Be someone who lifts everyone up. Find the goodness is people and the world around you. Eventually, all you will see is that! Can you imagine what a great world that would be to live in?

CHOOSE THE RIGHT OPTION

Many people are confused when I tell them I listen to motivational content almost daily. Sometimes on my morning commute. Sometimes at the gym or on a walk. Why would someone who has spent the last 20+ years providing such content listen and learn about it? Firstly, because I am a lifelong learner. There is always something new around each  corner. Only fools think they know everything.

Another reason is hinted at the quote above. So many of us check social media first thing in the morning. A lot of us listen to the news on the way to work. This can be poisoning our minds before the day even begins. Could you surround yourself with negativity and still have a positive life? I suppose you could, but it would be a lot less likely and a lot more difficult.

Putting good stuff into a body, brain and spirit will increase the likelihood that good stuff will come out! Want an even more compelling reason to surround yourself with positive things? It makes having a great life that much easier! Having a daily motivational calendar makes it far more likely you will come across something to inspire you than hoping your coworkers will quote Marcus Aurelius.

How do you get good stuff in? What actions do you take to surround yourself with positive influences? Subscribing to this blog is one way to introduce positivity into your life daily. What are some other actions you could take?

HEY YOU!

Falling in love with life will be the theme of my upcoming fourth book. Do you remember how it feels when you first fall in love with a person? You feel like you are floating on a cloud. Nothing can bother you. Imagine feeling the same way about life!

There are secrets to get this feeling back. It is much like love in a relationship. After a while, we begin to take things for granted. We begin to see the cracks and faults. Sometimes to the detriment of all the good and the magic. That is why children have a much more magical view of life than adults. Life is new. Everything is a miracle. My next book will help you capture that again as an adult.

In the meantime, I would love to hear things and situations that help you fall in love with life. Even if just for a moment.

DO NOT AVOID THINKING OF IT

A few posts back, we touched on the benefit of writing our own eulogy and how it can help us gain both clarity and direction for our life. The majority of people who listen to this concept whether through my book or in a seminar, can see how powerful it can be. By pondering how we want to be remembered and what we would like people to say about us and our life after we are gone, we can clearly see if we are taking the right actions. If not, we certainly know how to fix them. Having clarity and direction to our life can reduce a great amount of stress and a foster a greater sense of fulfillment.

When discussing this there are still a few people, some I know very well, find this concept morbid. I am not sure why exactly. Death is something that happens to 100% of us. It is one of the very few things that every human on the planet has in common. It should be something that unites us. The quotes above are Latin. They loosely translate as “Remember you must die” “Remember to live” and of course, “Seize the day.” These together provide a good map to life. Remembering we must die is what gives life its value. If we lived forever, it would little matter what we did. That fact that our time here is finite makes it priceless.

“I do not want to think about dying!” some people cry to me. As if not thinking about it will somehow delay its arrival. It will not. The only thing that not thinking about your death will do is leave you unprepared for its arrival. I do not know about you, but that would lead to a lot of stress as the end is drawing near. One tricky bit, as the first quote tells us, we do not know when that day will be! The older we get, the more likely it is to arrive. It is vital to know that old age is not a prerequisite to death. I died when I was 47. Lucky for me and my family, it was a temporary condition.

In the days leading up to that operation and temporary flirting with the other side, it became abundantly clear what was important to me. I no longer fear death. My fear is not accomplishing what I set out to do. Love my lady. Leave the world a better place than I found it. Inspire, encourage and empower all of those I come in contact with. Ignoring the fact that my death is drawing ever closer would rob me of a great source of urgency that I use to get a lot of things done in my life. Knowing that any hour could be our last to impact the lives of those we love, not to mention the world at large, should push us to be the best version of ourselves that we can be.

LIFE IS STRANGE 🤪

Think of this quote for just a moment. When a baby is born, it has no material things to call its own. When we are about to pass away, any material objects we may own stay here. Wealth may help you get better health care on the way out, which is a sad commentary about our society, but you will leave with nothing. It reminds me of a great quote from Denzel Washington I will share with you in just a bit.

Knowledge of these two facts is not anything that eludes us. We may not dwell on them, but we are certainly aware of the truth of them. Ancient Egyptian pharaohs tried taking it with them, but many years later we open their tombs to find it all still there. Still, in today’s more advanced society, we spend our entire lives in pursuit of material things. To some extent there is more of an accent on things like peace and happiness, but they are treated as more of a commodity than a way of being.

There is the quote I promised earlier. “You will never see a U-Haul behind a hearse. If that isn’t true. Why do we not spend more time and effort on things that will feed both our soul and our legacy? The answer is usually that we are fixed on the idea of comfort, or preoccupied with how we appear to others. It starts when we are young. You have to have the ‘cool’ brand of shoes or clothing. This is true even if another brand is more comfortable and more economical. A good many of us never outgrow this way of thinking. This highlights one of the hypocrisies of living this way. We spend our money, focus and energy on things to make our life more comfortable. Often, these things are not the best option for our life.

Here is one thought to ponder. There is nothing more soothing and comfortable than inner peace. Despite what advertisers may tell you, that is not something you can purchase. There is a song lyric I like that says, “An honest man’s pillow is his peace of mind.” Knowing that I have given my best and tried to focus on what really matters allows me to sleep at night. Not concerning myself with material status or image for others allows me to focus on more important things. How do I make my lady feel loved? How can I add more joy and positivity to the world? Am I taking actions that will leave the world a better place than I found it? These are the important things to be working on.

One great exercise to help you gain clarity on these matters is discussed at length in my second book, Living the Dream. That is the act of writing your own eulogy. To some this may sound morbid, but it will help you gain both clarity and direction for your own life. Pondering what you want people to say at your funeral, and how you want to be remembered, will show you what actions you should be taking now. It will also become abundantly clear if you are currently taking the proper actions, or if there is something you need to work on. How about you? What are you working on?

BEING ALIVE IS SPECIAL 😊

As we get older, we appreciate how fleeting life is. It was difficult to understand this as a child. Isn’t a year always the same length of time? It is, but as the years go by, they seem to go past with a quicker pace. The loss of a childhood friend yesterday, before the age of 50, just proves life may not even be as long as we think it is.

That is why it is so important not to save the good things for the future.  The joy, the love, just enjoy them now. You may not get another chance. Share love, share happiness. Live now, it’s later than you think.

A WAY TO BE WISE 🤔

This is more than some feel good quote. Epictetus, who went from being born into slavery to teacher of philosophy, knew a thing or two about not having a lot. What allowed him to transform his life, and the lives of countless others, was his mindset! We have discussed at length the subject of gratitude on this site. We have done so because it is one of the most powerful tools we can use to transform our life in the quickest period of time. Want to suddenly have a more fulfilling and happy life? Your best bet would be to find as many ways to incorporate gratitude as you can.

Getting back to the quote at hand, what can it tell us about our own life? A good deal. We may not have been born into slavery, but all of us have had our share of hard times. Maybe a job loss or unexpected bill that has set us back. We all have. What makes focusing on what we have verses what we lack so wise? Let us take a look at that. It will help us see that life is really an inner game. What do I mean by this? Let us look at both sides of this quote.

When we focus on lack, life will never feel fulfilling. If we are a person filled with anger and rage and we suddenly win the lottery, have a great spouse and loving kids, what will our life be? It will be one of anger and rage. We spend so much time trying to achieve outer success before focusing on inner thoughts. That is why we see rock stars, movie stars and celebrities who seem to have it all take their own lives and become addicts. They mastered the outer game, but failed at the inner game. If you become rich and successful, but your are unhappy and ungrateful your life will feel like a failure. In reality, it will be.

Conversely, when we focus on what we have we feel fulfilled. This does not mean we will not seek something better. It simply means as we do that we will acknowledge the fact that we have a lot to be grateful while we are pursuing it. When we do receive more, it will feel even more wonderful because we are already living with an attitude of gratitude. It will just give us more to celebrate and feel grateful for. Those focused on lack will never have enough, no matter how much they have. Those who are focused at feeling grateful for what they have will always feel good no matter how little they have.

Can you see the wisdom in this mindset? One feels terrible no matter how good circumstances are. One feels great no matter how terrible circumstances are. Life, at its core, is our emotional state. If we can find a way to be happy regardless of outside circumstances, than our life will be one of joy. That way is through gratitude. After all focusing on what we lack has turned celebrities into addicts. Focusing on what we have has turned a slave into a philosophy teacher. You owe it to yourself, and those around you, to fill your heart with gratitude. It will make you less stressed, happier and more enjoyable to be around. That is a secret to an amazing life!

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?

It seems like only yesterday that I was posting about my goal of 1000 days in a row of content. My beautiful lady even threw me a surprise party for the event. It was attended by dear friends and had me feeling so sky high. Can you believe that was 100 days ago? Just like that, we are at 1100 days in a row of content. In some ways this has become easier. Posting insightful content has went from becoming something I do into more of something I am.

Like many things in life, this change has unlocked a secret to an amazing life. That is when your actions become your identity, life becomes less stressful. We can apply this to any area of life. Trying to get in the habit of going to the gym? Start referring to yourself as ‘a gym person’. This works by activating both inner and outer reinforcements. On the outer side of things, the people you inform, “I have decided to become a gym person.” or however you wish to word it, will be more than happy to remind you that gym people go to the gym. On the inner side of things, it starts to work on your subconscious mind. That is what drives 95% of our behavior. Repetition of a statement, as well as attaching it to our identity, will make doing the actions that much easier.

Think of how this works. If you start taking the actions and thinking the thoughts of the person you wish to be, before long, you will be that person. Take our fitness example. If you start declaring you are a fitness person, even if currently that means ‘fitting this doughnut in my mouth’, you will start thinking and talking like a fitness person. When your subconscious hears you say “I have decided to become a fit person.” Then you find yourself making the most of an all-you-can-eat taco bar, it feels wrong. Your mind begins to tell you “This does not align with our identity.” Soon you will find yourself adjusting your actions to fit your new identity.

It has worked for me and my writing. It will work for you and whatever goal you are aspiring to. Decide who you wish to become and then become that person. Declare it and your mind and body will follow.

A GOAL WE SHOULD ALL STRIVE FOR. 🏆

We touched on this a little in the last post. We should endeavor to bring something to the lives of everyone we touch. It could be just lending an ear to someone who never feels heard. One of the best things we can do these days is offer an uplifting and encouraging message to everyone. The world seems in dire need of such things. There are few universal truths in the world. I think wanting to bring something to the life of everyone we meet is one of them.

Some of you may think you do not have much to offer. Let me assure you that nothing could be further from the truth. Everyone of us have our own unique perspective and our own unique skills that add something to the world. It can be an ability to stay calm in the midst of chaos. It can be the skill of finding the positive or humor in any situation. Again, the ability to truly listen to someone. Not just to reply to them, but to truly understand them is a priceless gift.

Starting today, whenever you interact with people, think to yourself, “What can I bring to this person’s life?” Approaching our personal interactions with the question “What could this person really use right now?” Will allow us to bring our relationships to the next level and improve the lives of all of those we come in contact with. How do you bring something special to those you interact with?

PRISON OR OPPORTUNITY 🔒

Here is another post about freedom. It is the freedom that is controlled by the power of our thoughts. Listening to some motivational content the other morning, I heard a good description of this freedom. The gym is a place a lot of people dread going or find like their are ‘forcing themselves’ to go to. The ironic aspect is that most of the people who feel this way are the people who are reasonably healthy and working to get better. If you find someone who has experienced a major health challenge such as a heart attack or a form of cancer and they realize that the gym offers them the freedom of a healthier lifestyle. It not only allows them the freedom of better mobility and energy, but quite often the freedom of being alive.

On the opposite end of the spectrum are people for which it is too late to attend the gym. Maybe they let their health slide to a point they are no longer able to be mobile, or even worse. If you would give them a chance to go back in time to go to the gym and reclaim their life, they would jump at the chance to do so. If you are constantly chasing pleasure, you have become its slave.

Quite often, the difference between prison and opportunity exists in our minds. Take your job, for example. Many people feel as if they are in prison when they are at work. Studies show that 87% of people dislike their jobs. A simple shift in mindset could great assist us in this matter. If we realize what our jobs afford us to do. With them we can pay our bills to have a roof over our heads, the lights on and food on the table. Another great way to turn our prison into opportunity is to attach a bigger meaning than a simple paycheck to what we do. When I worked more directly with the public at my day job, I focused on bringing as much joy and encouragement to everyone I came in contact with. Knowing I was doing more than earning a paycheck, I was blessing lives, made going to work a lot more enjoyable. This mentality is one that everyone who works with the public should adopt. Judging by some of the service I have received lately, it is one many choose not to. Viewed simply, you have to be there because you are getting paid. The customer has to be there because they need your good or service. Why not make it the most fun the interaction can be? It will be far more enjoyable for both of you.

Whether it is working out, or working, your mentality has a lot more to do with your situation than even the facts do. Look for the opportunity in every situation and your life will never be the same.